Marketing plan
A marketing plan assists you to integrate your total marketing effort. It ensures a systematic approach to developing products and services to meet and satisfy your customers’ needs.
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Environmental Analysis
- A discussion about the industry you are entering, in an historical and a geographical sense.
- A look at changes, advancements and trends over the last 10 - 15 years, and the current situation at an international, national, state and local level.
- Identify where your particular business fits into the industry and why there is an opportunity for your business.
Product(s)/Service(s)
- A full description of the range of products sold and/or services offered, emphasising differences, improvements, innovations etc. compared to other products/service on the market.
Customer Demographics
- Indicate who your customers will be in each segment, their age, sex, lifestyle, interests, geographic location.
- How many are there in the areas you are going to service?
- Competition and Competitive Advantage
- List three of your major competitors.
- Make a realistic assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.
- How will you address their strengths and capitalise on their weaknesses?
- How many staff do they have?
- How long have they been in business?
- What position do they have in the market? (E.g. quality, price, service).
- Do they have a waiting list for their product/service?
- Indicate why you think people would change their current buying habits to become your customers.
- How will your competitors react when you enter the market?
- Will your business have any adverse effect on other competing businesses?
- What is your competitive advantage?
Price Strategy
- What pricing technique will you use? Explain why.
- What are your prices? Include a list of prices.
- Classify your goods and services (ie, GST taxable supply, GST free or input taxed)
Advertising and Promotional Strategy
- List the methods you will use and the cost of bringing your product/service to the attention of prospective customers, e.g. in which publication will you advertise.
- Will you use direct marketing campaigns, if appropriate.
- What promotional literature will you be developing, i.e. flyers, etc.
- What other promotional tools will you use?
- Prepare a timetable for 12 months of all promotional activities, remember to include the costings in your cash flow.
| TASK | DATE REQ'D | COST | EXPECTED RESULT |
| TOTAL COST |
S.W.OT. Analysis
- A grid identifying your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
- Include a discussion of how you will take advantage of the strengths and opportunities and what action you will take to counter the weaknesses and threats.
| STRENGTHS | WEAKNESSES |
| OPPORTUNITIES | THREATS |
Market Research
- Details of the results of your market research produced from primary and secondary resources.
- Include details of any surveys/questionnaires used.
- Include tables and charts as appropriate.
Market Targets
- How many products (or hours of service) are you going to sell. The targets need to be realistic, achievable and sufficient to make a profit.
- Present them in a table showing your targets for the first 12 months of operation.
- Make allowance for seasonal factors and the time required to go from a new business to full operation.
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